Where Did Typhoid Fever First Emerge?

Typhoid fever is now thought to have emerged during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta that lasted from 431 to 404 B.C. Recent archeological research has confirmed this finding by genetic studies.

Ancient Plague

According to eyewitness accounts by Thucydides, an epidemic plague of unknown origin devastated Athens during the early stages of the war. Archeologists recovered dental pulp from skeletons discovered in a mass grave in Athens in 2006, analyzed the material for DNA, and found it was the bacterium responsible for typhoid fever.

Geographical Origin

The plague began in Ethiopia and spread through Egypt and Libya to Greece, killing up to one third of Athenians.

Transmission

Typhoid bacteria are spread via food and water. The crowded and unsanitary conditions in wartime Athens allowed the disease to spread quickly.

Symptoms

Thomas Willis, an English physician, is thought to have been the first to record symptoms in detail in 1659. He described the symptoms, which include sore throat, fever, headache, nausea, ulcerations and bleeding, the duration of the disease and how it should be handled.

Debate

Despite the DNA evidence, there are some experts who dispute the validity of the genetic study and do not completely accept it as proof that the epidemic was typhoid fever.

References

• Typhoid fever led to the fall of Athens
• Ancient typhoid epidemic reveals possible ancestral strain
• No proof that typhoid caused the Plague of Athens

Resources

• Typhoid fever